Lauv feat. Anne-Marie – ****, I’m Lonely

“This might be the most charming f-bomb I’ve ever heard in pop music.”

Tom: This might be the most charming f-bomb I’ve ever heard in pop music.

Tim: Oh that is nice, you’re right.

Tom: I think it’s the switch to quiet falsetto that makes it so charming. Every time Anne-Marie swears here, it sounds performative, deliberately designed to stand out and shock. But somehow, Lauv on his own manages to make the consonants sound so quiet and musical that it really fits the lyrics.

Tim: Yeah – it’s obviously rude, but comes across almost as an “I’m terribly sorry I have to use this word, but you see there’s really no other option left open to me”.

Tom: That said, the clean version, replacing the profanity with a single pinging synth, doesn’t sound that different to me.

Tim: Hmm, fair. It’s helpful that it’s there, really, because it’s an interesting highlight in a song I otherwise might skip past entirely, or certainly get bored with.

Tom: Anyway, then there’s the rest of the track: this is catchy, with the sort of minimalist production that can sound terrible if it’s not done really, really, well. Here, though? It works.

Tim: It really does.

Saturday Flashback: Grace Carter – Heal Me

“Was this song big anywhere?”

Tim: Tom, help me: was this song, from the beginning of this year, big anywhere?

Tom: Not as far as I know. I don’t recognise it.

Tim: It’s just, it’s so familiar (and not in the sense of ‘this sounds like that’, but in the actual ‘I have definitely heard this song before’), but it’s not charted anywhere, she’s barely been played on the radio recently (5 times in that past month), and it doesn’t seem to have been in any TV shows or films. But damn, I know I’ve heard it before, maybe even a lot.

Tom: I mean, that verse melody is coincidentally similar to Bo Burnham’s Country Song, but I doubt it. Are you sure you’ve heard this, specifically?

Tim: And I absolutely know that, because it’s really, really good. The strings and piano right from the off give us a fantastic start, her vocal is perfect and oh, that chorus is just divine. The sheer power there, it’s truly glorious.

Tom: I was all ready to disagree with you, and then I realised that a few minutes later, I could still hum the chorus.

Tim: Why didn’t it do better, Tom? Why?

Tom: It did get a million views. That’s a lot better than many.

Tim: Yeah, I guess.

Alphabeat – I Don’t Know What’s Cool Anymore

“OOH YES it’s like the Alphabet of a decade ago”

Tim: Tom, you said yesterday that everything seemed generic, and you couldn’t mind much to write about. Turns out the music gods paid attention, because: NEW ALPHABEAT!

Tom: Crikey, between that and Mika, it’s like my university years have come back.

Tim: First thirty seconds of that, I was “hmm, it’s okay for a second track, decent funky pop, I guess I can cope”, but then the CHORUS came along, and suddenly I’m “OOH YES it’s like the Alphabet of a decade ago”.

Tom: That chorus bassline reminds me a lot of Train from 2012, too. I’m not suggesting it’s a rip-off: it’s just another touchstone that puts this, well, as not being cool any more.

Tim: It’s fun, exciting pop, proving that either they truly don’t know what’s cool any more or that they just don’t care, because this ain’t mainstream music, with its gloomy synths and weird vocal samples and genericness. No. Instead, it’s happy, energetic, upbeat, joyous, celebratory, arms flailing in the air for that drum bit at the end, wonderful music.

Tom: I was going to specifically point out that drum fill! You’re right: it’s not the sort of thing we hear much these days.

Tim: I’ll be heading to Denmark to see them in November, and right now I’m more excited about that than ever.

Mika – Tiny Love

“Let’s pretend that bit doesn’t exist.”

Tom: I’ve been looking through the list of recently-released singles, and honestly it’s been difficult to find anything to talk about. Everything seemed a bit generic. But with this, at least I’ve got something to say.

Tim: Ooh, it’s like early Mika again!

Tom: First of all: brilliant intro and a great first verse. It’s full-on promising Mika, all orchestral and lovely, seemingly taking inspiration from Queen and ELO. The melody’s lovely, and his voice is amazing. It sounds like the best of “Life in Cartoon Motion” again.

Tim: It really does! In fact, there are some melody lines in there that sound just great.

Tom: And then there’s the chorus.

Tim: Which is still good, yeah.

Tom: And then there’s everything else that follows.

Tim: I’m guessing we’re talking about the bit following 2:45? Because yeah, that’s just dull. Let’s pretend that bit doesn’t exist.

ABREU – Sytyn

“The production on here is just great.”

Tim: Anna Abreu, who we’ve not featured for several years now, has rebranded, and re-genred: it’s time for a not-quite-too-late SUMMER BANGER. (Incidentally, the title doesn’t translate to ‘Satan’, as I was initially hoping, but instead to ‘Light Up’.)

Tom: That starts well, doesn’t it?

Tim: Bit of tropicality in there, a good amount of synthed up background vocals, and a hell of a lot of good dance beats. The production on here is just great.

Tom: The production is excellent throughout: whoever’s mixed this has spent a lot of time to bring out the best in those vocals in front of some quite complex instrumentation.

Tim: The bit that really made me think ‘yes, this is as it should be’ is the quick series of drums beats we hear halfway through and at the end of each verse (first at 0:13, then 0:23). It’s a small thing, and the song would still sound great if it wasn’t there – but it is, and it shows that a lot of thought has been put into this track, making it as good as it can be. And I think it succeeds.

Benjamin – Näytä Mulle Ne

“That chorus feels like it was designed for the audience at a talent contest to wave their arms back and forth to.”

Tim: When this starts, you might think you’re watching Top Gun, but I promise you you’re not. Instead, you’re listening to a song with a title translating to Show Me Them, where ‘them’ is all your little imperfections, because (genuine translation from what he’s said) “no-one wants to fall in love with Teflon”. True, I guess, because I can’t really see myself ever marrying a frying pan, but there’s probably a metaphor in there as well.

Tim: So as I hear it, what we’ve got here is a song with slightly irritating verses, which are largely made up for a rather lovely pop chorus.

Tom: That chorus feels like it was designed for the audience at a talent contest to wave their arms back and forth to. A very specific comment, there, I know, but am I wrong?

Tim: Not even slightly, and if we’re honest it quite possible was. We’ve also got the middle eight which mixes everything up a little, by which I really mean it gets chucked into a blender and turned on at full speed, because God knows what’s really happening there, but it sounds decent enough.

Tom: Odd vocal samples in there, too — and some strange choices of rhythm and percussion. But, yeah, okay, this is… this is… this is a song that exists. Sorry. Can’t get excited about it.

Tim: Goes back to a lovely normal for the closing chorus, though, and overall I’ll give this a distinctly positive rating. Can’t deny his look in the artwork does help with that, mind, but still. It’s nice.

Lena Philipsson – Du Ljuger

“Aaaagh, come on.”

Tim: The title translates to ‘You’re Lying’, and never before has a song given me so many moments of “aaaagh, come on”.

Tom: Music videos are vertical now. Right. Okay. That’s a thing. Pity they just put a phone on a cheap gimbal, and asked her to walk about a bit really, but never mind. ANYWAY. The music.

Tim: Now, don’t get me wrong: what is there in the song is really, really good. This does, in fact, have the potential to be one of my favourite songs of the year.

Tom: Really? I feel like “have the potential” is doing a lot of heavy lifting in there. You’re right that there are decent elements in the track…

Tim: BUT, there are so many bits that should be there, but aren’t. That moment at 1:02 that is crying out for a big dance breakdown. It kind of gets there after the second chorus, but it still doesn’t quite hit its full potential. And worst of all, that ending. Sure, an abrupt ending is okay, it’s happened before. But I don’t think I’ve ever heard one like this.

Tom: Yep. Everything about this feels a bit unfinished, in big and small ways.

Tim: You’re coming out of the middle eight, you have a quiet bit, BUT THEN YOU HAVE A LOUD CLOSING CHORUS. IT IS THE LAW OF POP MUSIC. DAMN YOU LENA, YOU BROKE THE LAW.

Saturday Flashback: Michelle – Es gibt dich

“A textbook example of a builder.”

Tim: I have no idea where I found this, but I was finally getting round to clearing up my 40+ Safari tabs when I re-found it, and I think it stands up.

Tom: This is the first time in a while that I’ve thought “wow, that’s a voice”. Those first lines, almost isolated, really show off her vocal quality.

Tim: It is, really, a textbook example of a builder. Middle eight aside, there isn’t a single component that isn’t a slightly increased version of what came before – hell, sometimes it increases midway through the verses.

Tom: It almost feels like the producers and engineers were having some fun with this one. I checked the waveform in an audio editor, and it literally increases in volume like someone’s steadily turning up a dial.

Tim: And when we come back from that middle eight, OH, I was absolutely not expecting it, but in hindsight it’s a perfect closing chorus. It’s a lovely song – nothing big or huge, but just really, really nice to listen to. And I like that in a song.

Cascada – Like The Way I Do

“This did manage to exceed my expectations.”

Tom: New Cascada!

Tim: Hooray!

Tom: It probably won’t be nearly as good as their famous tracks!

Tim: True!

Tom: That is… a lot of autotune on the verses. I’m not sure if it’s a stylistic choice or just an overapplied fix. But at least the choruses sound a bit cleaner.

Tim: Hmm, see, I’m not normally that great at hearing autotune, unless it’s cranked up to 2011, but, yeah, it does seem a bit excessive.

Tom: Still, this did manage to exceed my expectations. It’s a solid track: it’s never going to define an entire generation’s clubbing lifestyle, but then very few tracks do. This is a solid dance track from people who know how to make them.

Tim: True, can’t deny any of that. It was never going to be amazing as the earlier work – hell, it could never be – but it’s good enough.

Julie Bergan – Crazy Enough

Tim: New one off Julie, and, well, I played it once and it was still in my head 45 minutes later, so that’s got to be a good sign, right?

Tom: Usually, yes, but that was also true of the Fast Food Rockers.

Tom: Well, that’s a heck of an introduction and first verse, isn’t it?

Tim: Starts out as a fairly simple ballad, chorus comes along and turns up the volume a bit, then hits properly and we are BANGING with an absolutely marvellous track.

Tom: Oddly, it’s the chorus that I find unconvincing: it’s unusual to say I like a verse more. I agree that it’s catchy, I’m just not sure I like it.

Tim: Production is great, her vocal is on point, melody is strong and memorable, and all in all I have next to no criticisms about this track whatsoever.

Tom: I’m not quite that enthusiastic, but, sure, it’s not bad.

Tim: I say next to no criticisms: there’s one part I’m not so keen on, which is the ending. If it’d been a quieter ballad throughout that’d work, but as it is, going from a big hefty number suddenly to a single vocal just seems too abrupt. Not sure how to fix it, mind – maybe stick a minor instrument underneath it, or maybe just cut it off entirely, go straight to zero for even more impact? I don’t know, but that aside, it’s absolutely marvellous.